'Boardwalk Empire' Season 5 to End the Series?

HBO's 'Boardwalk Empire' fared surprisingly well with critics in its fourth season, even as the period gangster drama has consistently failed to achieve the same buzz as some of its predecessors, but could the fifth season in 2014 prove its last?

Take this one with a grain of salt mind you, but it seems a recent 4Chan report (via Uproxx) suggests that HBO will look to make 'Boardwalk Empire' season 5 the last with a slightly reduced order of episodes, as well. However dubious an anonymous 4Chan post might seem, the source has been credited with multiple inside looks at the HBO series in the past.

It’s not official yet. It’s just rumblings I’ve heard throughout the office. First it was 10 episodes, then maybe 9 and now I believe they’ve settled on 8. This probably won’t be announced for some time until HBO figures out their schedule and budgets I’m sure but I’ve been told that 5 will be the last season.

The report could make a degree of sense, as HBO has typically allowed its series to operate without the same stretches as fellow pay cable networks like Showtime, while 'Boardwalk Empire' has never achieved the same marquee status as 'Game of Thrones,' for instance. HBO has also begun operating 'True Blood' with a reduced number of episodes as it heads into the final season, while 'Treme' wraps up its fourth and final season with a handful of episodes.

We'll keep our ear to the ground for the latest, but what say you? Should 'Boardwalk Empire' season 5 prove the last, would you be satisfied with its end?